38: Chapter 38 Misty Path, Eerie Shadows in the Poisonous Swamp

Three days had passed since they left the bloody battlefield.

Lin Yan, Xiao Yi Xian, and Chi Rong traveled through the dense mountains and forests in the northwestern part of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, deliberately avoiding all traces of human activity and the territories of known high-level magical beasts.

Chi Rong was the most severely injured. The wound on its hind leg, eroded by the ghost fire of the Hall of Souls, was difficult to heal in a short time, even with its tough physique and fire-attribute regenerative abilities. The wound was surrounded by persistent, chilling soul power, making every step heavy.

It spent most of its time in the special contract space (a temporary resting place opened via the Soul Contract) Lin Yan provided, only being released briefly when scouting or guarding was necessary.

Lin Yan's condition was the most complex.

The pale "Pure Corrosion Soul Seal" between his brows followed him like a shadow, constantly emitting a chilling aura that eroded and reshaped the essence of his soul.

The benefit was that his perception and control of soul power improved at an astonishing speed, with his total soul strength stabilizing at the peak of the Mortal Realm, even faintly touching the mysterious threshold of the Spirit Realm.

The drawback was that his emotions were suppressed to an extremely low level, and his thinking became abnormally calm, even cold. His perspective on things often went straight to the most essential interests and risks; the warm, human part of him seemed to be covered by a layer of ice.

He had to constantly use the Seed Flame of Void Devouring Flame as a core to construct a soul defense line to resist the erosion of the Soul Seal, which consumed a great deal of his mental energy.

The skull that had been forcibly broken off and had devoured the pale seed flame had been completely decomposed by the Void Swallowing Flame; the complex soul power within it was purified and absorbed, while the remaining material turned to ash.

The fragmented information obtained from the memory of the staff-wielding envoy, combined with the guidance of the ancient soul scale, made him more wary of the layout of the Hall of Souls and the secret of the "Ancestor of Ten Thousand Scales."

Xiao Yi Xian's changes were relatively positive.

After being tempered by the Xuanming True Water and absorbing part of the resonance aura of the ancient soul scale, her Calamity Poison Body presented a strange new balance.

The gray-purple poison power was fused with a trace of calm, icy blue luster, not only becoming more powerful but also easier to control, with much less of the previous violence and risk of backlash.

Her perception and ability to control poisons advanced by leaps and bounds. The few rare poisonous herbs she collected along the way were all carefully processed using the secret methods recorded in the "Seven-Colored Poison Manual," refining them into more concentrated poison liquid or powder, which she then stored away.

The way the two of them interacted was also quietly changing.

Due to the influence of the Soul Seal, Lin Yan spoke less and his emotions were more muted, but all his decisions and actions carried a convincing precision and reliability.

Xiao Yi Xian had become more proactive and resilient, striving to improve herself. She was no longer just an object that needed protection, but a partner who could provide poison support, early warnings, and even participate in tactical planning.

A silent tacit understanding, based on sharing life and death and having a common goal, flowed between them.

At this moment, they stood on a relatively high mountain ridge, and the scene in front of them made even the calm Lin Yan frown slightly.

Ahead, there were no longer rolling green mountains or dense forests, but a boundless, gloomy land shrouded in gray-white thick fog.

The fog was so thick it was almost tangible, slowly rolling and flowing, swallowing everything. One could only vaguely see some twisted, strange shadows of dead black trees and murky, greenish puddles nearby.

A moist, rotting scent wafted through the air, mixed with a sweet, fishy smell and a faint odor of sulfur. Inhaling it into the lungs brought a faint sense of dizziness and nausea.

It was deathly silent; apart from the occasional creepy rustling and low gurgling sounds coming from unknown places, there was no other sound.

The Mist Swamp had arrived.

The resonance guidance of the ancient soul scale clearly pointed to the depths of this land of death.

Lin Yan could feel that the ancient soul scale in his storage ring corresponding to "poison" or similar attributes had become unusually active at this moment; the scale was slightly hot, and the frequency of the dark gold patterns flashing had obviously increased.

"The fog here is poisonous, and it is a complex, highly toxic mixture of various miasmas, decaying poisonous gases, and the emanations from underground poison glands."

Xiao Yi Xian took a deep breath, her emerald eyes glowing slightly as she carefully discerned the toxic substances in the air.

"Anyone below the level of a Dou Master would likely die within moments of inhaling it."

"Even a Dou Ling expert, without special resistance, would be chronically eroded and experience obstructed Dou Qi circulation if they stayed for a long time."

"However..." She looked at Lin Yan, her eyes filled with a hint of eagerness, "For my poison body, the environment here... is simply a natural training ground and supply station."

She could feel the poison power in her body spontaneously absorbing and assimilating the trace amounts of similar toxic substances in the air, growing slowly and steadily.

"Do not be careless." Lin Yan's voice was calm and waveless. "Poison is only one factor."

"Vision is obstructed, perception is distorted, the terrain is unknown, and various poisonous insects and beasts, or even stranger things, may be lurking beneath the swamp."

"People from the Hall of Souls may also have tracked us here."

He took out two specially made "Miasma-Clearing Pills" from his storage ring, took one himself, and handed the other to Xiao Yi Xian.

These were refined using several anti-poison herbs combined with the aura of the Living Spirit Flame. While they could not provide complete immunity to the intense poison here, they could significantly increase resistance and help maintain clarity.

"Stay close to me, use soul perception to scout the path, and watch your step."

Lin Yan was the first to step into the gray-white thick fog.

Xiao Yi Xian followed closely behind, with a wisp of gray-blue poison power lingering on her fingertips, which could serve as a warning and could also be used to fight poison with poison when necessary.

Once inside the mist and miasma, the light immediately dimmed, as if stepping from daylight into dusk.

Visibility was less than ten zhang; beyond that, it was a blur of gray and white.

Underfoot was soft, damp ground mixed with rotting leaves and mud; every step had to be carefully tested to avoid falling into hidden quagmires.

The sweet, fishy, and rotting smell in the air became more intense, trying to penetrate the nasal cavity from every angle.

Lin Yan retracted his soul perception to about twenty zhang in front of him, forming a relatively clear "detection circle."

But even with his soul strength at the peak of the Mortal Realm, he was significantly interfered with in this strange mist and miasma. The scenes he perceived were twisted and blurred, as if separated by a layer of frosted glass.

More troublesome was that the mist and miasma themselves seemed to have a weak erosive and paralyzing effect on soul power.

Xiao Yi Xian, relying on the special sensitivity of her poison body, was exceptionally keen on the changes in "poison" in the surrounding environment.

She would whisper reminders from time to time: "The puddle to the front left has an abnormal concentration of poison glands; there might be a nest of poisonous insects." "The dead tree on the right; the bark is secreting paralytic mucus." "Watch your step; this patch of moss is highly toxic and shows signs of sliding."

The two cooperated, moving slowly and cautiously along the edge of the perilous swamp.

On the way, they encountered several waves of attacks.

A swarm of fist-sized, emerald-green "Rot-Poison Mosquitoes" with sharp mouthparts was turned into ice sculptures and fell after Xiao Yi Xian scattered a handful of mixed poison powder.

A second-rank "Withered Wood Poison Viper" lurking in the muddy water had its soul directly scorched by a precise strike of Lin Yan's Fallen Heart Flame (invisible heart fire), causing it to twitch and die.

Another time, they almost stepped into a trap that looked solid but was actually a "Poison Swamp Mud Monster" in disguise; fortunately, Lin Yan's soul perception detected a weak life fluctuation below, giving them an early warning to avoid it.

These attacks were not high in intensity, but they were endless and drained their energy.

What was more disturbing was that as they went deeper, the color of the mist and miasma began to change subtly, gradually tinged with imperceptible traces of light purple from the gray-white. The sweet, fishy smell in the air became heavier, even beginning to interfere with the normal circulation of Dou Qi.

"Something is wrong," Xiao Yi Xian stopped, her expression grave. "This purple mist... is not naturally formed. It is mixed with some kind of... high-level poison power residue that was artificially refined or at least guided!"

"It is very similar to the 'Purple Luo Smoke' mentioned in the 'Seven-Colored Poison Manual,' but more overbearing and complex."

Lin Yan sensed it too.

This light purple mist had a stronger interference with the soul, and it faintly produced a weak repulsive reaction to the Pure Corrosion Soul Seal between his brows, as if two high-level powers from different sources were invisibly probing each other.

Just as the two were vigilantly observing their surroundings, a strange, intermittent sound, like metal grinding or a painful moan, suddenly came from deep within the mist ahead!

At the same time, the resonance of the ancient soul scale suddenly became intense, and the scale even began to tremble slightly!

"It's ahead!" Lin Yan's eyes narrowed, signaling Xiao Yi Xian to increase her vigilance. Following the sound and the guidance of the resonance, the two carefully moved forward.

Passing through an exceptionally dense area of purple mist where one could barely see their own hand, the scene ahead suddenly... or rather, eerily became a bit clearer.

The fog became thinner here, revealing a relatively open clearing covered with black mud and pale white bones.

In the center of the clearing stood several crooked, toppled dark cyan stone pillars carved with twisted, strange patterns. They were clearly man-made, but had long since fallen into disrepair, covered in moss and traces of corrosion.

In the center surrounded by the stone pillars was a mud swamp about three zhang in diameter, constantly bubbling with dark purple bubbles. In the swamp, half of a huge, pale white skeleton of an unknown creature was submerged, along with some rusted metal fragments.

The strange metal grinding sound and painful moaning came precisely from the depths of the mud swamp, intermittent, as if something was trapped underneath and struggling.

What made Lin Yan and Xiao Yi Xian's hearts tighten even more was that a few broken... black robe fragments were scattered on the edge of the mud swamp!

On the fabric, the ghost-face embroidery unique to the Hall of Souls was faintly visible!

Moreover, the fragments were still new and had not been completely corroded by the mud swamp!

People from the Hall of Souls had been here! And it was very likely that a battle or an accident had occurred!

Lin Yan squatted down and picked up a piece of the black robe fragment. His fingertips brushed over the extremely weak, chilling soul power aura remaining on it. It was from the same source as the previous staff-wielding envoy, but more complex and chaotic, as if it had been contaminated by some strange power from this place.

"There is... something under the mud swamp." Xiao Yi Xian pointed at the bubbling swamp, her face pale. "My poison power senses very intense... death energy and resentment below, mixed with high toxicity, and also... a trace of living aura? Very weak, very painful."

The resonance of the ancient soul scale reached its peak at this moment, the scale burning hot, pointing directly at the center of the strange mud swamp!

"Could it be... that the next ancient soul scale, or the entrance to the relevant ruins, is under this mud swamp?" Lin Yan stared at the churning dark purple mud, his eyes sharp as knives.

The people from the Hall of Souls had clearly discovered this place too, but it looked like they had either failed or paid a heavy price.

Was the sound coming from the mud swamp a trap? A guardian? Or... a cry for help from a survivor of the Hall of Souls?

Just as Lin Yan was weighing whether to risk investigating, a sudden change occurred!

The "Pure Corrosion Soul Seal" between his brows began to beat violently without warning!

A cold and urgent thought was transmitted from it, not directed at the mud swamp, but... abruptly turning toward the direction they had come from!

At the same time, the system's urgent alarm sounded in his mind:

[Warning! An ultra-high-level threat detected approaching at high speed! Direction: Southwest, Distance: Less than five li! Energy characteristics: Fire attribute (violent), Space attribute (tearing), Soul power attribute (pure and chilling)! Comprehensive judgment: Same source as the previous strong enemy that broke the ground in the cavern, and even stronger! Target locked: host! Estimated time of contact: Thirty breaths!]

Lin Yan's expression changed drastically!

It was that top expert from the Hall of Souls who had broken the earth vein above the cavern earlier!

He had actually tracked them here so quickly?! Was it because of the Heart-Burning Seal? Or... was it the fluctuation of the Pure Corrosion Soul Seal that exposed them?

"Xiao Yi Xian, find a place to hide immediately! Conceal all your aura!" Lin Yan whispered sharply, while completely withdrawing the severely injured Chi Rong into the depths of the contract space. He himself fully operated the Void Swallowing Flame, enveloping his soul and the Pure Corrosion Soul Seal, attempting to suppress their fluctuations to the lowest level.

Xiao Yi Xian also sensed the terrifying pressure that made her soul freeze, which was approaching rapidly. Her face turned deathly pale, and she dashed without hesitation toward a gap nearby covered by a huge dead tree and rocks.

Thirty breaths passed in the blink of an eye!

In the southwestern sky, the gray-white mist and miasma were roughly torn apart by an invisible, immense force!

A figure shrouded in pitch-black, churning thick fog appeared on the edge of the clearing as if teleporting!

He did not fully reveal his figure, but the pair of eyes projecting from the black fog, burning with pale white flames, like a gaze from the Nine Netherworlds, instantly fell on the spot where Lin Yan and Xiao Yi Xian, who had just finished hiding and whose auras had almost vanished, had previously stood!

The terrifying pressure descended like a tangible mountain!

The surrounding air stagnated, the fog was pushed away, and the ground sank slightly.

Even the strange mud swamp temporarily stopped bubbling.

The existence in the black fog seemed to let out a puzzled "Huh."

He had clearly sensed the familiar, craved "Pure Corrosion" soul power fluctuation and the "key" aura, so why, upon arriving close, did it become so weak and flickering, as if it had merged into this strange swamp environment?

His gaze slowly swept across the clearing, finally fixing on the strange, bubbling mud swamp and the black robe fragments of the Hall of Souls left on its edge.

"Trash..." A hoarse, low voice that sounded like grinding sand came from the black fog, carrying a hint of disdain and anger.

Clearly, he recognized these as the traces of the Hall of Souls' subordinates and did not care at all about their failure (or death).

His attention seemed to be drawn by the strange sounds coming from the mud swamp and the complex energy fluctuations contained within.

The aura mixed with high toxicity, death energy, resentment, and a trace of weak "same-source" sensing piqued his interest.

"An interesting place... It seems, there is also the scent of a 'key'?"

The figure in the black fog slowly took a step toward the mud swamp.

Hiding in the crevices of the dead wood and rocks, Lin Yan and Xiao Yi Xian held their breath, their heartbeats like beating drums.

They were in close proximity to that terrifying existence!

And at this moment, the sounds in the strange mud swamp suddenly stopped, as if it had sensed the approach of a more terrifying existence, and it fell into a deathly silence.